Toy or game device.



G. E. VON HOFFMANN.

TOY 0R GAME DEVICE.

APPLICATION mu) NOV. 2. 19:0.

Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

Witnesses:

mun/CW me' coumm ruuooumum co., WASHINGTON. n.

mmwu UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE E. VON HOFFMANN, OF CHICAGO, ILLINoIs, ASSIGNOR or ONE-HALF TO GLENN s. NOBLE, or CHICAGO, ILLINoIs.

TOY 0R GAME DEVICE.

Application filed November 2, 1910.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. VON Horr- MANN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toys or Game Devices, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to games or amusement devices adapted for either indoor or outdoor use, but preferably the latter.

Among its objects are to provide a game Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 18, 1916.

Serial No. 590,278.

the device is that the operation or throwing action is not always as easy or simple as it may appear. For instance, if the player swings the rod back over his shoulder for a violent throw, the ball will frequently slide up the rod and fall back of him. Again, the rod may be given a violent swinging move ment, but if the movement is continued with the handle 6 as substantially the center of movement, the ball will remain in position or merely slide up the rod a little way and drop back again; or, again, the player may or amusement device which will afford the g the rod 51 free swlnging mm'ement, players a reasonable amount f x i which he thinks will throw the ball violently one which will require more or less skill andi, forward but it Will merely p w @1038 in which increase of skill will bring increasei' t0 his feet- To operate the deVlCe 111 0M9r of accuracy, and one which ay b l y d, to secure the best results, the rod should be either individually or in which competition may be keenly developed. I attain these objects and such other advantages and desirable features as will appear hereinafter. from the devices or apparatus shown in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure is a side view of a throwing stick and ball embodying one of the principal features of this invention in its preferred form V Fig. 2 is a somewhat diagrammatical view illustrating one method of using the throwing stick and playing the game; Fig. 3 is a: sectional view showing a modified form of. construction.

As shown in the drawings, 5 indicates a" rod of any suitable material, but preferably of steel, having a handle 6 in which it is securely fitted. A ball or projectile 7 having a hole 8 therethrough fits freely on the rod 5 so that it will readily slide along the same. If desired, the rod may be slightly lubricated in order to facilitate the movement of the ball 7. Any number of such balls may be provided for use with each rod or throwing stick, and if desired, the balls may be given different colors. The object of this throwing stick is to project or throw the ball by means of a swinging movement of the stick or rod. The player grasps the handle 6 and slips a ball 7 down adjacent to the handle, then, by giving the stick or rod the proper forward swinging movement, as indicated in a general way in Fig. 2, the ball 7 may be thrown with great force and accuracy, provided the player has acquired sufficient skill. While this appears exceedingly simple, yet one of the novel and interesting features of 'given a swinging movement, which will start the ball sliding along the rod, and then the movement stopped at such a position as ,will cause the ball to be thrown from the end of the rod in the desired direction.

As indicated in Fig. 2, I may combine with my throwing device, a target or the like 9 against which the balls may be thrown to test the accuracy of the players. If desired, the balls may be clipped in chalk or other suitable material so as to leave a mark on the target to indicate where they strike. This target or objective may also be provided with one or more holes 10 having bags or receptacles 11 in the rear thereof, and the player will endeavor to throw the balls through these holes. The different holes may be given different values or designations, so that the player throwing the ball into the hole having the largest designation may be considered the winner.

In the modified form of construction shown in Fig. 3, I have shown a tube 12 in place of the solid rod 5. I have also shown a projectile 13 of slightly different form from the ball 7, which is adapted to slide over the tube 12 and be thrown in the same manner as above described. The tubular construction provides means whereby a dart or arrow 14 may be thrown by means of the throwing stick or tube in a manner similar to throwing the balls or projectiles 7 and 13, that is, by giving the proper swinging movement to the throwing device. These darts or arrows may be inserted in the end of the tube, opposite the handle, or may be inserted at the end adjacent to the handle, as indicated by dotted lines. By means of this device, either the projectiles or the arrows 14 may be thrown separately at a target or the like, or if the player desires, he may throw both an arrow and a ball at the same time.

I provide the rod 5 with an adjustable stop 15, which may fit the rod sufiiciently tight to remain in adjusted position or which may be set, by means of a. screw 16, at any desired point along the rod so that the ball 7 may be held at such point for throwing instead of being slipped down adjacent to the handle as above described. By means of this arrangement the action of the device may be considerably varied, thus giving additional variety to the game.

For outside use I prefer to make the rod approximately eighteen inches long and about one-fourth inch in diameter and prefer to make the balls or projectiles of Wood or other comparatively heavy material, so that considerable force and accuracy may be developed in throwing the balls. When it is desired for indoor use, the throwing rod may be made smaller and the balls made of some light material, such as cork, felt, or of hollow rubber, so that they will not be apt to cause breakage or injury of household articles.

Having thus described my invention, which, it will readily be observed, may be more or less modified without departing from the spirit thereof, and which I do not wish to limit to the exact details of construction or arrangement of parts herein shown and described, except as specified in the appended claims, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a rod or stick, a handle at one end of said stick, a substantially spherical ball having a hole therethrough for engagement with said stick, the bore of said hole being but slightly greater than the diameter of the stick, whereby the ball will slide freely along the stick and may be thrown therefrom by centrifugal force when the stick is swung by the operator.

2. In a device of the character set forth, the combination of a tube, a handle at one end of said tube, a projectile having a hole therethrough adapted to slidably fit over said tube, and a. dart or arrow adapted to fit within said tube, the arrangement being such that said projectile or said dart may be thrown by a proper swinging movement of the tube.

3. A throwing device for arrows or balls, comprising a tube open at one end and having a. handle at the opposite end, the balls being adapted to fit over the tube.

4. The combination with a throwing rod or stick of the character set forth, of an adjustable stop adapted to be secured at any point along said rod or stick and a ball or missile having a. hole therethrough adapted to slide over the stick.

GEORGE E. VON HOFFMANN.

Witnesses:

A. W. FENSTEMAKER, L. LANG.

copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

